


Skyhigh

by lifein10s



Series: Third time's a charm [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Actors, Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Flirting, Banter, F/F, Flight Attendants, Flirting, Hook-Up, Implied Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan, Lawyers, Lesbian Character, Musicians, POV Lesbian Character, Rejection, Series, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Social Anxiety, Social Media, Swan-Mills Family, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-21
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-16 14:16:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8105587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lifein10s/pseuds/lifein10s
Summary: "May I ask what your name is?"Emma's eyes pop open "You don't know?" she asks incredulously."I'm afraid not."Emma chuckles "Wow" she shakes her head."Have I offended you?""No, of course not. It's very refreshing to me, that's all.""That famous huh?"Part one of a three-part series called 'Third time's a charm'. Emma is a famous singer/songwriter who's assigned to sit next to a beautiful brunette during a flight, a brunette who's oblivious to Emma's status of fame. AU. Swanqueen.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!
> 
> First of all, apologies to all of you Golden readers who are patiently waiting for your update- I simply ran out of ideas (but I’ll fix it, don't worry).
> 
> This story, however, was sitting in my head, nagging me for days now. I finally gave up and wrote it down, thinking it was going to be a one shot. But as it turns out, this is more of a multi-chapter kind of fic.
> 
> So this is how it's going to work: this is the first part out of a three –part series called 'Third time's a charm?' Where Emma and Regina meet/run into each other on three different occasions. Despite it being a total AU you'd find their banter and love/hate relationship.
> 
> If you like the concept and the story, please let me know by commenting and liking it so I'll know whether or not it's worth writing.

 "Are you kidding me?"

"I'm so sorry Emma, I really tried. This flight was fully booked and you have to be in New York tomorrow morning."

Emma huffs in annoyance and places her feet on table, not something anyone would do in the premium lounge. Unless they were Emma Swan of course.

"Fine" she grits out and run her hand through her locks, already imagining Ruby grimacing at her 'ruined' hair. "But they're better not be batshit crazy"

She can hear her assistant quickly hum in response.

"Oh," she says right before she hangs up "and if they're a fan, you're fired."

She ends the call, not bothering to wait for Mary Margaret's response.

She lets out an angry sigh, re-places the earphones in her ears and hits play. She grabs the beer that was neglected in favor of shouting at her assistant and takes a large gulp. The ice-cold beverage seem to calm her down a little.

She turns to look at the large glass window and stares at the awaiting planes.

"Fuck" she mumbles to herself, realizing she got railed up and lost it again. She retrieves her phone from her bag and quickly types a massage.

 **_Emma_ ** _\- Sorry. Not fired if they're a fan._

The response comes in immediately.

 **_MM_ ** _\- It's all good, I figured._

Slightly calmer, Emma glances at her expensive watch. Only ten minutes left for boarding. God, she hates planes. She hates the long waits, the violating scans and checkups and most of all, the flights themselves. There's nothing worse than the stomach-churning, ears-blocking sensation at take-offs and landings.

Another shortcoming is the closed space. Not that she is claustrophobic or anything but it does make avoiding fans a whole lot harder.

You see, Emma loves her job, she truly does but if there was any way for her to create her music and act without the whole fame thing she would go for it in a heartbeat.

At first, it was thrilling; turning from a foster kid that everyone kept throwing away to this famous artist producers wanted to work with. Then came the fame. For some reason people went crazy over her and in a matter of months she became one of the most famous singers/songwriters/actresses in the industry. Her story didn't hurt either, a foster kid moving to LA to wait tables for living getting discovered by Brandon J in the flash and offered a record deal in his label _'J tunes'_.

After her first big hit _'Walking away'_ the offers just kept coming; from a lead role in the huge blockbuster _'Hit and Run'_ to a special collection and cooperation with _'American Eagle'_ , Emma's course to success was paved for her.

The only downside of it all was the fans. Don't even doubt the fact that she loved them with all of her heart, since she is only where she is thanks to them. But the attention, the attention is too much; too much people, too much cameras, too much crazy love-struck fans. Too much. Emma needs her quiet, her sense of normalcy, her boundaries, her privacy for fuck's sake.

So tries to avoid it and mostly, she is pretty successful. The problem starts in places she can't have control in. Airports are a part of those places. Moving her make-up team, assistant and security across the country only to have them go back two days later is unnecessary and expensive. And despite having all this money Emma remained a foster-kid at heart and she will not throw so much money on unnecessary luxury and comfort.

"Miss Swan?" one of the lounge workers asks politely and Emma takes out her earphones.

"Boarding for first class has started." She informs kindly, nods curtly and walks away.

First class is her best bet; filled with rich people or hard-working business man, Emma has a better chance of dodging unwanted fangirl moments.

She grabs her makeshift handbag and throws it over her shoulder. She heads out of the lounge towards the main area and makes her way to the boarding gate. She immediately feels the change of atmosphere, spotting people around her frowning, trying to decide whether it is Emma Swan herself or merely a really convincing look alike. Those doubts are her guarding angle since most of the time it keeps people from jumping over her.

She keeps walking, acting normal and ignoring their whispers.

She makes it to the flight attendant safe and sound. Letting out a breath she fishes her ticket out of the back pocket of her ripped jeans and hands it over. She checks out the flight attendant, Joanna is the name on her name tag while she scans the ticket and wait for approval.

She smiles while having a quick look-over, from the fitting skirt to the almost too tight blouse.

Joana hands the ticket over to her.

"There you go Miss S-" she stops and re-reads the name again. Her eyebrows go up and she looks up at Emma, realizing it is Emma Swan. Usually Emma would roll her eyes at the extra attention but Joana is hot and flirting with hot girls is always on her mind.

"Miss Swan" Emma fills in the gap for her while flashing her charming smile her way. Joana clears her throat and pulls the collar of her shirt. Emma smirks at the show of uneasiness. That's one of the plus sides of being famous; girls throw themselves at you and even the so called 'straight ones' would dabble with you if you just winked their way. 

"Yes" Joana says and her cheeks flush a little. "Err, I like you music" she blurts out awkwardly and Emma chuckles. Titling her head to the side she smiles again.

"Thank you. Are you going on this flight?" she asks when Joana hands her the ticket and their hand brush. Seemingly distracted by the touch, Joana looks at her blankly before coming to her senses.

"I'm afraid not" her face crumble at the prospect "I'm a ground stewardess" she points towards her tag that indeed says the same. Emma lingers on her breast for a short while before locking eyes with her.

Joana opens her mouth to add something but someone behind Emma clears his throat quite bluntly. That seems to snap Joana out of her gaze. She smiles professionally and gestures toward Jetway.

"Enjoy your flight" she says politely and Emma nods her thanks.

Damn it. What a waste.

She reaches the airplane and hands her ticket once again, this time to the flight attendant. She is being directed towards the front portion of the plane where extra directions would be given. She walks through Business class, earning a few surprised looks.

She enters the first class section and a blonde stewardess approaches her immediately.

"Hey," she greets cheerfully "may I see you ticket?"

Emma hands it out and the woman directs her to one of the two seats in the middle raw.

"Are you sure I'm not a window?" Emma frowns, she specifically asked Mary Margaret to put her next to the window.

"I'm afraid not Ma'am, I'm sorry."

"That's okay" Emma dismisses her. Disappointed, she takes her seat in the spacious section.

Emma knows she looks so out of her element here; with her ripped jeans, wife beater and large hoodie. Yes, the jeans might be a 200 dollars designer-jeans, as well as her tank top but at the end the cost doesn't change the fact that she looks like a troublesome teenager. Well, she chuckles to herself, that's because she probably is.

She looks around what might be called her seat but is basically a small living room; there're a TV in the wall in front of her as well as a an adjustable table and enough room to make her loveseat a bed.

The blonde woman, Tania is her name, approaches her again.

"May I get you anything to drink Miss Swan?" Tania, probably used to high-profile clients isn't stars truck in the least.

"Err" Emma looks around her, trying to think if there's something she would like.

"Maybe a beer?" she asks eventually and Tania smiles.

"Of course, here in the cabinet'" she hovers over Emma and opens a cabinet Emma haven't even noticed "you have cold water as well as orange juice, a small bottle of Champagne and Corolla." She points the bottles and straightens back up.

"If you're not a fan of Corolla we also have Heineken, Paulaner and Strongbow."

"Heineken is just fine" Emma smiles, since she has no idea what the other beers are like. Apparently Europeans have their fair share of beers.

"No problem" Tania goes away and Emma goes for her phone again.

 **_Emma_ ** _\- I changed my mind, you are fired._

 **_MM_ ** _\- What? Why? What happened?_

Emma chuckles, messing with Mary Margaret is too much fun, she can't help herself.

 **_Emma_ ** _\- Middle row, really?_

 **_MM_ ** _\- I'm so sorry, they had no seats left!_

 **_Emma_ ** _\- Fine_

 **_MM_ ** _\- Fine what?_

 **_Emma_ ** _\- I'll think about not firing you._

 **_MM_ ** _\- Emma! ><_

Emma laughs out loud at the response just when Tania comes back with a cold bottle of Heineken.

"Thank you"

"Gladly"

She takes a sip and tries to think of how many beers she had so far. Was it three? Four?

She shrugs and takes another sip, worst case scenario she'll sleep damn fine and the flight will be over in a heartbeat.

She checks her social media accounts for the lack of anything else to do. If it was up to her, all of her accounts would be private or non-existent but her manager insists that it is part of her job as a celebrity. She tried explaining a hundred times that she is an artist but his answer is always the same; you can't be a successful artist without being famous, you fans pay your bills, remember that.

After nothing interesting pops up, she closes her phone and places it on the table. She starts scanning the people around her, trying to gauge what their deal is.

To her right there's a blonde woman, tall and impeccably dressed, her face is all done and Emma grimaces and immediately goes for the 'girl who grabbed a rich man but now is aging and trying to fight it' type.

To be honest, Emma never really got all the fuzz about blonde bombshells. She has done a few of them, just to get the vibe and maybe see the light about the whole blonde girls are hotter but the only conclusion that she reached was that it was a straight up lie. The dyed hair alone gave them this fake aura, they were too tall for Emma and there was something really off-putting in their lack of flaws. Usually they decorated it with an intelligence level of a squirrel. They also lacked the curves of a woman; if Emma wanted slim, tall bodies she would go for a skeleton or a man. Emma wanted the curves, the softness of the padded areas. And most of all, she wanted flaws. She wanted the scars, the birth marks, the freckles in unexpected places. She wanted it because she had those too and feeling inferior to someone based on things that you were born with is never nice and also because it was nature's way of telling this person's story.

This inner monologue she was having stirred all kind of emotions in her so she retrieved her notebook, the one she has at all times, and started scribbling down words. First it's just a bunch or words, un-related sentences and then she will grab all of them and make it a song.

She glanced at the empty chair to her left. Maybe this person is a no-show. A girl can sure hope.

She got back to her notebook, trying to figure out the rhythm in her head, tapping her pen rhythmically on the chair handle while singing the words in her hand. The parts that seemed fit were instantly written down in the form of chords and next to it were numbers Emma used so she can remember the tempo. She scribbled furiously, trying to write everything down before if flees her head.

She doesn't even notice the person claiming his sit next to her.

She is close to finishing the first draft of the story before hearing Tania chirps happily.

"Good afternoon Miss Mills, how are you?"

 

_To be continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think, will you? :)


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm quite alright, thank you Tania." This low, throaty voice responds and Emma stops her writing. Still staring at the page in front of her she listens to the exchange of words when this woman asks for the usual and Tania responds with an 'absolutely, coming right away.

Growing up with music in every single bone of body these are the things she pays attention to. A voice this deep for a woman is quite unique and she can't help but wonder whether this person sings. She also can stop her prejudiced brain from connecting that voice with a large, manly woman.

She glances up and almost chokes on air when she spots her companion. Her eyebrows shot to her hairline at the sight of an extremely feminine woman. Not fat, not manly. This woman is gorgeous with dark raven hair, tanned skin and a second-skin power suit.

The first thing that comes to mind is how the hell does someone fly in slacks and a button-up shirt?

This woman pays Emma no mind as she places a laptop on the table and opens it. Emma stares with no shame as this woman start typing with beautifully manicured hands. Emma can't help but frown at her nails, they're short. Who would willfully manicure their hands but chop all the length off? Unless she is… Nah, there is no way.

Tania comes back with a glass of red wine in hand.

"There you go" she hands it over to the woman who smiles tightly at her.

"Thank you Tania"

And there it is again, even seeing that low voice coming out of this petite woman doesn't stop Emma from questioning how is it possible.

Staring apparently for too long Tania looks at her.

"Can I get you anything Miss Swan?"

Emma winces inwardly, waiting for the inevitable reaction of people responding to her name and status. But this woman doesn’t even spare her a glance, she simply keeps typing furiously while sipping red wine from the glass.

Surprised, Emma looks up at Tania "I'll have what she is having"

Tania's brows furrow at that, she looks at the bottle of beer Emma is currently nursing but says nothing and merely nods.

Emma leans back in her chair and fiddles with the edges of her notebook.

She glances at the woman one more time before clearing her throat.

"So," she drawls "where are you going?"

It takes the woman a second to realize Emma is talking to her and when she catches it she raises her eyebrow and answers without detaching her eyes from the screen.

"New York" she says simply and Emma thinks she can spot a little amusement in her voice. She is mocking her.

Emma groans inwardly at her own stupidity, of course she is going to New York, this is a flight to New York. What a game you got there Swan.

"What were you doing in London?" she asks after a moment of silence.

This woman doesn't answer immediately but frowns at something she reads in her computer.

"Business" she answers eventually, right before Emma gives up completely.

Since this woman hasn't spared her a glance Emma indulges herself with a thorough look-over. She starts with her heels and her eyes travel all to way up from her tightly clad thighs to the clad chest. She looks up at the prominent clavicle, the delicate diamond necklace and ends with the profile of what can only be described as a one of a Greek goddess.

Her eyes pop all over her facial features; from the plump lips to the perfect nose and brown eyes.

"You should be more discreet dear," she suddenly says and it makes Emma jump "women don't like to be ogled."

"Sorry" Emma clears her throat and immediately looks down at her lap.

What is wrong with her? She is usually so confident around women. But this woman, this woman has this authoritative aura about her and the fact the she couldn't care less about Emma makes it so refreshing, refreshing to the point that Emma doesn't know what to do.

"There you go Miss Swan" Tania places a glass of red wine in front of Emma, who nods her thanks.

Deep in thought on what to do next, to give up or to try harder, she mindlessly sips from the glass in her hand. Forgetting this is wine and not beer, she coughs at the large gulp of bitter liquid that goes down her throat. You don't chug wine, dumbass.

She hears a noise, resembling to a snort coming from her left side. She turns to see that the woman's mouth has quirked up to a small smirk.

"What so funny?" she asks defensively while downing the unwanted taste with the remaining beer in her bottle, thinking nothing of mixing types of alcohol and what it does to her stomach.

"Nothing" she woman feigns innocence.

Emma returns to her phone.

Sooner than later Tania approaches her, announcing they're about to take off. Emma shuts her phone down, not before texting Mary Margaret that she will be unavailable from now on.

The woman seems to hear that too and she closes her lap-top and shoves it in her handbag.

She stares ahead and Emma is at awe of how indifferent this woman is to her presence.

Having nothing else to do, she fishes out the script she needs to learn for her next week's audition. This is supposed to be a movie about a girl getting over social anxiety by finally coming to terms with her past trauma and depression. When Emma first pitched the idea to her manager, the first thing he said was that Emma doesn't do those types of films and when she asked why he said that she isn't that type of actress. That insinuation infuriated Emma to no end. Saying that she is not that type of actress meant that he thought she couldn't act. Acting in a large budget blockbuster action hit is basically being attractive and accepting money for tying her name to that film. She wanted this role firstly because she truly loved the story but also since she wanted to prove to all of those judgmental trolls put there that she can act and not just pose and 'hit' people and run away like she did in the other movie.

Filled with a new wave of determination she starts reading the script. She scribbles down notes, sentences she seems to have trouble remembering, emotions and actions that she wants to portray in certain lines and key words.

She doesn't pay attention to the fact that for the first time since she boarded the plane, the brunette goddess is examining her.

She bites her lips in concentration, mouthing the words to herself and then closing her eyes, trying to imagine the situation more clearly and vividly.

That's when the pilot announces that they would be taking off. He asks politely from people to buckle up, close any cellular or internet based devices and close the table in front of them. Since Emma is in first class the whole table thing is done for her, Tania quickly grabs the beer and the glass of wine and closes the table.

Emma lets out a deep breath and stares ahead. Her leg starts to jiggle nervously and her hands clasp tightly to the handles until her knuckles turn white.

The plane starts moving and Emma's breath get slightly shallower.

"Are you alright?" she hears the woman ask but she is too far in her state of stress to actually pay her mind to it.

"Mmm" she makes a non-committal noise and prays that the alcohol will soon kick in.

"Miss Swan?" she tries again and Emma's head whips to her left.

"You know my name?" she asks and her voice wavers. Mainly from her fear of flights but also since it's the first time they lock eyes. The brunette smirks in return and Emma is shamelessly staring; she is even more beautiful face to face than from her side.

"I have ears you know" is all she says and only then Emma recalls the amount of times Tania has called her name.

The plane speeds up and Emma can feel her stomach flip, she feels the blood drain from her face and she closes her eyes. Their conversation is long forgotten as Emma emotionally crawls into herself. If the woman said something else after that, well Emma would never know.

She opens her eyes when she hears the sound signaling it's safe to unbuckle.

Now, she regrets the multiple drinks she had as she rushes to the bathroom. Of course, with her luck, it's occupied and Emma looks around in desperation, trying to hold the content of her stomach in.

Another first class stewardess approaches her. She places her hand softly on Emma's shoulder and says quietly.

"The Business class bathrooms are empty if you'd like…"

Emma nods and quickly makes her way through the Business section. Quickly spotting the green color on the door she sighs in relief and enters the stall. She crouches next to the toilet and empties her stomach.

She leans against the wall, breathing in and out. After a minute or two she feels slightly better. She washes her face and stares at her reflection. Deciding she couldn't care less about her hair, she scoops it up into a messy bun and shoves the end of it in that mess. Having curly hair might have its flaws, but at least you don't need a rubber band.

She opens the door to face a teenage girl.

"It's free" Emma says and the girl looks up. Her face changes from indifferent to shocked in a matter of seconds and Emma feels her stomach drop.

Please don't let her be a fan, please don't let her be a fan.

But who is she kidding? All the kids from ages 10 to 20 are her fans and as Emma has predicted the girl sucks in a breath and her mouth turns into an 'O' shape.

"I am such a huge fan" she says breathily and her eyes are so round with awe Emma is sure they're going to pop out.

"Thank you" Emma says uncomfortably and quickly moves back to her section. She can feel the girl following her but she makes it to First class safe and sound and the girl is stopped by one of the male flight attendants. He explains calmly that she cannot come in. Emma takes her seat, her posture still rigid as she listens to the conversation without looking back.

The girl lets out a wail as she says repeatedly that it's only for a minute and that she's Emma's biggest fan.

Emma holds her breath and prays to anyone up there who would take it to give this man strength. In the end she gives up and Emma slouches down in relief. She has no doubt soon it would be known all over the plane.

She lifts her hand, signaling one of the attendants while biting her lip.

Tania arrives a second after.

"Yes Miss Swan?" she leans forward when Emma says quietly

"Look, I would really appreciate if you won’t let fans into this section."

"Of course" she immediately promises.

"No you don't understand," Emma tries again "those are kids and teens we're talking about, they're resourceful. Please keep an eye on the."

"We will, don't worry"

"Good, thank you" Emma nods and she's gone in a heartbeat.

Emma sinks into her chair, after placing three mint gums in her mouth. She sighs at the relieving freshness of the mint.

"May I ask what your name is?"

Emma's eyes pop open.

"You don't know?" she asks incredulously.

"How would I? You're only called by your last name."  The woman says simply and if she was not the dignified lady that Emma assumes she is, that would be the moment for her to shrug.

"Yeah but I'm kind of well known…" Emma says carefully and the brunette rolls her eyes at that.

"I figured" she gestures with her head towards Tania and a smaller girl with red curls who was trying to make her way into the section while waving erratically at Emma.

Emma scratches the back of her neck at the sight. God, she hates that part of the job.

"And you still don't know?"

The woman doesn't look even slightly ashamed when she eventually admits.

"I'm afraid not."

Emma chuckles "Wow" she shakes her head.

"What?" the brunette says harshly, probably assuming Emma is laughing at her but truth is that she is just shocked. Emma doesn't remember the last time someone didn't recognized her.

"No it's just- I'm very well known" is what she goes with and the brunette seems to mule over that fact.

"And you're offended? That I don't know you?" she furrows her brows and Emma has to admit it's very uncharacteristic to what she has seen from her so far, but it's bordering adorable.

"Oh no, of course not. It's very refreshing to me, that's all."

The woman purses her lips into a thin line.

"That famous huh?"

"Unfortunately" she says while taking a menu from Tania and nodding her thanks.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't like this whole famous thing" she shrugs while scanning the menu. It takes her three second to decide what she's going with, so she turns to look at the brunette.

"So why are you doing this?" the woman places the menu on the table, more interested in Emma's answer than what food she'll choose.

"For the art part"

"And why not do something else?" she inquires and Emma smiles sadly.

"I can't"

"Why not?"

"It's a part of me"

The brunette opens her mouth to respond but she closes it when Tania, blissfully unaware barges into their conversation.

"Hey ladies, what can I get you?"

"I'd have the Steak and potatoes please" Emma says politely and the brunette nods.

"The same"

Tania scribbles it all down.

"Excellent, anything to drink?"

"No thank you" Regina responds and Emma follows with a request for a glass of water.

Tania wanders away and they both remain silent, each returning to her own tasks.

Minutes later the food is set in front of them.

"Emma" the blonde says out of the blue and the brunette turns to look at her quizzically.

"Pardon?"

"My name is Emma" her lips quirk up and she hands out her hand.

The brunette takes it, her face warming up a little.

"Regina"

 

_To be continued…_


	3. Chapter 3

"What are you doing?" Emma asked after the cup of tea in the end of the meal was taken off her table.

"Working" Regina answered with her 'duh' tone attached.

"Obviously but why so much? What do you do?"

Still filling out a chart with her pen while looking at the data in front of her, Regina answered.

"Business"

Emma rolled her eyes at that.

"Saying you're in business is like asking someone what he likes to eat and his answer would be food."

When Regina showed no signs of answering Emma huffed.

"You know what? Never mind" she grabbed her earphones and stuck them forcefully in her ears. She plugged them into her IPod and turned the volume up.

She sunk in her chair and stared ahead.

She could feel Regina's eyes on her but you know what, Emma has been more than polite but Regina doesn't seem interested in talking to her. Alright then, she thinks to herself, no talking.

She turned back to scanning plane, in her awfully judgmental game. But who cares right? It's not like she says it out loud anyway.

She catches a glimpse of a tailored man, probably in his late 50's. Alternating between him and the blonde Barbie, sitting one next to the other, she decides they're a couple. Or he is her sugar daddy, but whatever, same story. Much to her delight the woman places a hand on his shoulder a whispers in his ear. Score.

She turns to look back and spots a group of kids, desperately begging to be let in.

She turns back ahead and mouths a curse. Damn her and her stupid stomach.

Giving up on everything else, she gets back to her notebook. She stares mindlessly at her newly scribbled words, trying to see if there's anything to add or remove. But it seems just fine and Emma finds herself throwing the notebook at the table and picking up her phone.

She turns it on and presses the 'Flight mode' button. She connects to the airplane's Wi-Fi network and her phone start buzzing with endless notifications.

After twitting 'I hate planes' she turns to reply to several highly popular/boosted tweets and after that she scrolls mindlessly through Instagram, liking random pictures.

She stops on a picture of a young woman. She looks probably in her early twenties, with light brown hair, blue eyes and plum lips. She smiles, her teeth pearly white while she stands in a bikini next a surfboard.

Emma bites her lip as her eyes jump all over the screen. This girl is hot. Emma doesn't remember following her but she is certainly happy for it now.

She goes into her page, oblivious to the chocolate eyes following her every move.

Emma likes that specific picture and she immediately presses the massage button.

_EmmaSwanLive- Hey :)_

She goes out of the app, hoping this girl would reply quickly. Talking to a pretty girl is always a nice way to pass the time and since the other pretty girl she met isn't really interested in talking, well it leaves Emma no choice.

She takes her earphones off when her phone buzzes with a reply. She smiles and opens it immediately.

_SarahR_1- Hi!_

_EmmaSwanLive- How are you?_

_SarahR_1- I'm good, wow I just… Yeah I'm good :D_

Emma chuckles and quickly types a reply.

_EmmaSwanLive- Awesome, well I'm here on a plane, bored out of my mind and I wandered maybe this pretty girl could help me pass the time ;)_

Her fingers drumming on the handles of the chair while she waits for a reply.

_SarahR_1- Sure. I think we should move to a different platform tohugh… Do you happen to have WhatsApp?_

_EmmaSwanLive- I do! I think we might be the only Americans who do…_

_SarahR_1- Haha yeah, probably… well my number is_ _732-159-2923, add me :)_

Emma pats herself on the shoulder, she didn't even have to be the one suggesting exchanging phone numbers. She copies the number and adds it under the name 'SarahR hot chick'.

"Seriously?" she jumps in her place and quickly places a hand on her heart.

"Jesus, you scared me" she chastises the brunette, who apparently had enough.

"Why are you doing this?" she points towards the phone.

"I'm bored" Emma shrugs "And you don't want to talk to me so…"

Regina purses her lips at that. "So you harass a poor girl?"

"I didn't harass her," Emma scoffs "I merely talked to her"

"And where you were getting with it?" Regina folds her hands, her face all judgmental like.

"Talking, and I dunno, maybe some pictures- wait why are you judging me? You're not my mother." She exclaims, placing her phone down.

"Damn right I'm not, I'm not nearly as old to be one." She looks offended by that thought and Emma snorts.

"And talking about mothers, where is yours? She should teach you some manners" Regina lectures with a coked eyebrow.

Emma deflates at that.

"I wouldn't know," she points towards herself "foster kid."

The brunette's eyes go round "I apologies I didn't know-"

"That's okay"

They go quiet for a while.

"Look," Regina's sigh breaks the silence "Would you drop that conversation if I talk to you?"

Emma chews her lip in contemplation. Eventually, she relents.

"Fine, I'll drop it. But you don't have to talk to me, I know you're not really keen on doing that." She shrugs and looks to the other way.

"Why would you say that?"

Emma gestures to the both of them, then to her lap-top and lifts her eyebrow in a challenging manner.

"I guess you could say I'm not a very social person" Regina admits uncomfortably.

"And you think that I am?" she asks incredulously, has the woman missed the entire fan incident?

"Well, at least you attempted making a conversation with me." She reasons.

"But that's because I like you-" she claps her mouth shut when she realizes what she just said. She can feel her cheek warming up and she clears her throat, trying to look as nonchalant as possible.

Regina smirks in return "Oh you do?"

When Emma doesn't answer she leans forward and whispers "And what makes you think I'm gay?" she lifts her eyebrow, enchanting Emma who's even more enamored by her from up-close

"Err, you can always pray for the invisible femme syndrome" she says and then her brain catches up "Wait how did you know I was g-"

"Gay?" Regina fills in for her and Emma nods "Firstly, the whole chick thing on your phone and the way you dress."

When Emma frowns in response, she elaborates "You dress like the girl I used to dabble with at college."

Emma draws a sharp intake of air "So you are into…" she motions with her hands, creating an hourglass shape in the air.

Regina chuckles throatily "I didn't say that," she smirks "I might like the male-" she looks to her crotch and back up at Emma suggestively.

"Oh I have many of those" she quickly says, smirking. A sexy banter is something she can handle, especially now that Regina seems to cooperate. "I have all type of sizes and colors, just take your pick." She smiles coyly and Regina shakes her head.

"Aren't you a charmer?"

Emma smiles broadly at that, dimples and all and Regina matches her smile with one of her own.

Fuck, is all Emma can think of when Regina reveals pearly white teeth. Enamored by how her face lit up at that, she coaxes.

"Well?"

"You seem to be the 'one time thing' type of girl." She points out, successfully dodging the question.

"Well that's only because I can't be around them more than that" she says defensively "their like cardboards intelligence wise."

"And I'm not?" she asks rhetorically but Emma nods nonetheless "So I'm hot and intelligent?" she asks teasingly, daring Emma to say otherwise .

"I'd have to check under those clothes to confirm that" she says cheekily and Regina tilts her head back and laughs.

"And what if I don't enjoy that" she counters and Emma snorts.

"Oh you would, believe me"

Regina shakes her head.

"Well, it's all theoretical anyway, you don't even know me"

"Then tell me something about you"

"Like what"

"I don't know, where you live, what you do." She shrugs and quickly adds "And Business doesn’t qualify as an answer"

"I live in New York City and I'm a lawyer"

"Alright, I split my time between Manhattan and LA and you already know what I do for living."

Regina frowns "No I don't, I know that you're famous, that doesn't qualify as an answer" she smirks after using Emma's sentence against her. Shaking her head at the retort, Emma elaborates.

"I'm a songwriter and singer and I occasionally act as well."

"I see" Regina's face turn serious "Sing something to me"

"No!" Emma quickly refuses, embarrassed.

"Why not? It's your job isn't it?"

"Well yeah but-"

"But what?"

Emma turns to look around them. It's a daytime flight but still, numerous people are currently sleeping.

"Not here"

Regina nods "Alright then, tell me something else?"

Emma scratches the back of her neck, trying to think of other things to tell.

"Err, I'm a foster kid as you already know, gay as you already assumed and I hate being famous but love my job. That's it I guess."

Regina tilts her head "I'm sure there's more to you than that sentence."

"Nah, not really. What about you?"

"As I've said before, I'm a lawyer and a pretty successful one if I might add, I work too much and also have love/hate relationship with my work. Oh and I wish I was a foster kid." She adds smiling and Emma chuckles.

"Ouch" she replies and Regina hums in agreement "Tough family?"

"I guess you could say that. Pressuring."

"For?"

"Well everything really but mainly about marriage and family." She makes a dismissing motion with her hand and makes a face.

"Why? How old are you?"

"Emma!" she exclaims and the blonde shrugs in response.

"What?"

"You don't ask a lady of her age" Regina chastises and Emma rolls her eyes at that.

"Oh come on, this rule is targeted to old-looking women over forty and you are _not_ old-looking nor over forty."

Regina huffs in return "Fine, I'm not. I'm over thirties though."

"You see, when you say that all I can think about is a 39 year old woman who desperately tries to stay in that category."

Regina's face contort in displeasure.

"Fine, I'm 36"

"Well, you got plenty of time, they should get off your back."

"How old are you?"

"24"

"Aww, a baby" Regina mocks and Emma scowls.

"Oh really? Come with me to the bathroom and then we'll see about a baby."

"Not everything is about sex Emma" she scolds but her eyes flee to the bathroom door for a quick second regardless.

"Fine, listen to one of my songs and then call me a baby" she retorts. Suddenly not in the mood to keep the conversation going she picks the blanket she threw on the floor earlier and covers herself with it.

"I think I'm going to take a nap" she says and turns her back to Regina.

"What wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just tired" she mumbles while draping the blanket over her head. All of a sudden it's completely pulled off her and turns to see Regina holding onto it.

"Give it back" she commands.

"Tell me what's wrong"

"Nothing is wrong." She goes for the blanket but Regina sees it coming and pulls in further away, out of Emma's reach.

"So why did you shut off all of a sudden?"

"I didn't shut off"

"Yeah tell me more lies" Regina responds sarcastically.

"Fine," Emma huffs angrily "I just realized you look at me as a child"

"I was merely joking"

"I know but still, you don't see me as a grown up woman."

"And?" Regina furrows her eyebrow, clearly not following.

"You don't see me as a potential- ugh, forget it."

"What?" Regina presses "Girlfriend?"

"Well, at some point, yeah" Emma glances to the side, she is not enjoying having this conversation. Realizing she was merely entertainment for Regina while she was more and more intrigued by the brunette bumped her out.

"Emma" Regina sighs.

"No it's fine, I get it." She charges forward abruptly, leaning on Regina's chair handle to reach to the blanket. She manages to grasp but ends up in Regina's personal space. She gasps silently at how incredibly gorgeous Regina is from up-close. Her eyes cascade down to her lips, delighted by the scar they find on the upper lip.

She tugs the blanket but Regina doesn't let go of it.

"Give it" she says mere inches from Regina and they lock eyes and it's so intimate that Emma has to fight the urge to run.

"No" Regina answers defiantly.

"Regina" she warns and the brunettes challenging eyes meets with hers again.

"What are you going to do about it?" she teases and Emma's eyebrows shot to her hairline.

"Do you really want to find out?" she threatens while tugging the blanket again to no avail, Regina doesn't let go.

"Watch it, I might do something bold" she tries again but Regina doesn't budge.

She licks her lips and glances down to look at Regina's. They look so kissable, it's insane. She leans forward, almost closing the distance completely. But she loses her nerves at the last minute and she slouches back in her chair, missing Regina's disappointed expression.

"You know what, keep it" she mumbles sadly and turns away from her again.

 

_To be continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh! I know, frustrating! But as I've said in the first chapter it's a three-part series, things just can't fit perfectly, we need some friction. I hope you enjoyed their little banter, I definitely enjoyed writing it. The next part will be the last one for this story and soon after (I'll write a specific date next time) the second story of the series will be uploaded.


	4. Chapter 4

Emma glances at her watch. It has been more than a half an hour and she still can't sleep. Doing the math in her head she realizes she has at least four hours next to Regina. Great.

She huffs but eventually gets up. She isn't sleeping anyway so she might as well drain her pressing bladder.

She waits patiently for the stall in her section to become available. She hears the water flush and the tub opened. Eventually, the door opens and Emma enters to the stall. Her face color with surprise at the amount of space this stall allows. There's a sink, toilet and a shower and even a padded bench.

Out of her slight state of shock she locks the door after herself and walks to the toilet seat.

She washes her hands while staring at her reflection in the large mirror. She looks a lot better than the sick Emma from earlier. To her right she spots complimentary brushes and toothpastes. She picks one and brushes her teeth thoroughly.

She opens the door to get back to her seat. Before she can even register what's going on there's a hand on her chest pushing her backwards. She stumbles back and looks up to see Regina locking the door behind her.

"What-?" Emma trails, having no idea what to ask.

"This was the only way to get you to talk to me" Regina walks towards Emma and the blonde walks back in return.

"I told, there is nothing to talk about, you've made yourself abundantly clear"

"That?"

"That you are not interested in me in that way"

Emma collides with the wall, jumping at the unexpected touch.

"But what if I want us to be friends?" Regina inquires, getting closer and closer to where Emma stands.

"No," Emma shakes her head "I don't want to be your friend, I want you" 

"But I've told you before, I might not be into girls" Regina muses teasingly. They're so close they're almost touching and Emma, Emma had enough of this stupid game.

"I'm asking you to be into girls," she exclaims angrily "I'm asking you to stop sending me mixed signals, just say yes or –" 

She doesn't get to finish this sentence and Regina is kissing her. She is shocked at first, confused by their conversation, confused by the array of sensations she is feeling. She kisses back, opening her mouth to Regina's demanding tongue.

The brunette presses her into the wall and her hands start to wander.

Emma breaks the kiss, her chest heaving.

"You fucking liar" she accuses while Regina molests her jaw line, her hands caressing and griping Emma in all the right places. "This is not a straight girl touch"

Regina chuckles near her ear.

"Fine, I lied" she admits and moves to nibble Emma's earlobe.

"Then why…?" she breathes out when Regina hits a very sensitive spot in her clavicle.

"I love watching you squirm" she admits into her skin and Emma can’t practically feel the smoke coming out of her ears.

"You evil bitch" she moans when Regina places a thigh between Emma's and presses. 

She chuckles again and her hands slip under Emma's tank top.

"No, no wait" she pushes Regina away.

"What?" Regina frowns while breathing heavily "Don't you want to…?"

Emma shakes her head "Not like this" she scans Regina's form; her mussed hair, pink cheeks and blazing eyes and there's nothing she wants more than to take her here and now. But Regina is the first girl to ever capture Emma's attention with more than just her body. Emma doesn’t want a fling, she has plenty of those.

"Let me take you out on a date" she pleas.

"No," Regina's face turn serious "Absolutely not"

"Why?" Emma asks, disappointed.

"Because I said so. It's out of the question."

"Why?" she asks again.

"Take it or leave it" Regina sets an ultimatum and places her hands on her hips.

Emma chews her lip and cast her head down.

"Sorry" she says and makes her way to the door.

"But why? I thought that's what you wanted"

Emma doesn't turn to look at the confused blonde.

"No," she states "I wanted you"

She shuts the door behind her and walks back to her seat. Having nothing to do with all of those over-whelming emotions she takes out her notebook and start scribbling down her feelings.

She has to give it to Regina, no one had made her feel this cheap in a long time. It's not that she connected to Regina in such way that the parting hurts but it's the first time in a long while that she allowed herself to want something and it blew up in her face.

Rejection, self-doubt, you are not good enough. She writes the words angrily while her eyes water. She sniffs. She will not cry.

And then the emotions flow out of her, all the pent-up feelings she repressed over the years, the low self-esteem, the broken heart every time she didn't get picked to go to a foster-family; all the things she never talked about poured out of her in a non-ending stream.

She felt Regina's presence next to her but she ignored her, putting all of her attention on the song building in front of her eyes.

She stared at the finished product and felt her heart constricts at the amount of pain, passed along in the form of words. She nibbled her lower lip, trying to figure out how to call it. Rejection seemed too obvious so she went for the sequence of the sentence and a repeating motive in her life; Yet again.

She closed the notebook and placed it back in her bag. She turned away from Regina and placed the earphones in her ears.

The next time she took those off was when Tania shook her out of her fitful sleep to announce that they would be landing soon. Emma nodded and wiped the embarrassing line of drool from her chin. She sat down quietly, feeling the dread at the pit of her stomach again. It's just the landing and then you're done.

Saying this over and over didn't stop her leg from jumping nervously.

The light ordering the people to buckle up was on and she buckled herself.

"Emma"

"Drop it" she said angrily, though her voice was awfully calm.

"I'm sorry"

"Me too"

Regina was around all the way from to plane to the baggage reclaim. Emma broke her promise not to look only once; glancing at Regina and locking eyes right before she got into Mary Margaret's car and drove away.

Once they were out of the airport and away from all the paparazzi Emma let out a breath.

"How was your flight?" Mary Margaret asked cheerfully and Emma placed her head on the window.

"Horrible" she said with a picture of a certain brunette in her head.

"Oh I'm sorry" Mary Margaret said sympathetically "At least it's over"

"Yeah" Emma agreed, glad she won't have to see Regina ever again.

Or would she?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, this was the final part of their first meeting. The next part of the series will be called 'Parting Ways' in which Regina and Emma meet again, this time in much less pleasant circumstances. It will be up on Tuesday (October 11th) but if you're not sure you'll remember you can always subscribe for updates of follow me on Twitter (Lifein10s_).
> 
> There will be angst and it's not a very happy version of Emma, consider yourselves warned.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys, the second part of this story is now up! It's called Parting ways. You can either go to my profile and find it or scroll down to the bottom of this page and press the double arrow ( >> ) for the next part :)


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